Biological samples, such as substances in solution, e.g. blood samples, water tests, and tissue samples such as fertilized embryos, can often be effectively stabilized by freezing. The frozen fluid and/or sample will remain stable for extended periods of time as long as it is kept in the frozen state. Frequently these samples are collected in relatively large quantities, or collective sample, but could be utilized in smaller quantities, or specimens e.g. for test purposes.
When a specimen is needed, it often requires thawing of the entire collective sample to obtain the specimen currently needed, and then refreezing the remainder of the collective sample. However, frequent freezing and thawing cycles are almost always detrimental to the often unstable ingredients in the collective sample.
One solution is to store the collective sample in multiple small individual vessels. Then, when a specimen is needed, the necessary number of individual vessels may be thawed to provide the specimen needed without thawing and refreezing other individual samples of the collective sample. However, separation and freezing in individual vessels is cumbersome and time consuming, requires a larger amount of individual vessels, and thus larger storage facilities. The chance of confusion and mix-up of the individual vessels is also present.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,383,453 discloses a multi-specimen storage vessel provided with a number of equally distanced ring-shaped “notches” that extend around the perimeter of the vessel to constitute breakpoints. External screw threads for closing each specimen with screw caps may be provided on the ends of each specimen, i.e. surrounding the breakpoints. WO 2009/086829 discloses a breakable multi-specimen storage vessel comprising a container provided with break portions at predetermined positions alongside whereby the container is adapted to be broken into to a plurality of specimens. The vessel and a broken off specimen may be closed by closure caps.